The 7 Photography Mistakes I See All Photographers do!

There are many mistakes to avoid as a photographer. In this video, I cover 7 and how to solve them!
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0:00 - Clean edges?
1:22 - Deliberate shutter speed
4:40 - Central compositions
5:32 - Wrong lines
7:50 - Missing the moment
10:39 - Summarizing
12:21 - Creating the moment
12:39 - Proper lighting roll-off
16:20 - Not exploring the local neighbourhood
17:23 - Undefined foregrounds
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[@MadsPeterIversen]

Sadly KZbin hasn't entirely succeeded in getting rid of bots and scammers! I will never ever contact you or ask you to contact me and I don't do give-aways. Any replies from me here on KZbin you can recognize by the grayed out name!

[@ScubaShark--8964]

Can you show us the "good" or "better" example for the boat in the sea, and the leading line with sunrise/sunset on the right edge?

[@SoriquezKP1]

@@ScubaShark--8964 yess

[@BlueMountainStudiosPhotography]

You are such an intelligent and patient photographer, thank you for making these videos!

[@LarryJRayak]

This is helpful thanks. Just two things. Some of the post production images looked over engineered to me. This raises questions about what we want to achieve in landscape photography- realism or phantasy? Also does it matter if there are tire tracks in the sand? This is added texture and conveys that this is a lived environment.

[@lourdesgyan]

Great question! I can't stand over edited nature shots.

[@patrickgetsontube2997]

A lot of what is said in the video is subjective and depends on what we want to convey with our photos. If I take the photos of the geese for example, I much prefer the one the author did not like. I feel that it gives a much better feeling of how far the birds were. The one he likes, to me, feels too compressed like when you use a long telephoto and everything feels compressed in the picture. There is no right or wrong, just what we want to show. Sometimes we might want to show realism and sometimes we might want to show fantasy. I read somewhere that a photographer once said that "his photographs portray how he likes reality to be."

[@careywest]

It's important to note as well, if you're going to use the clarity slider, positive OR negative, be very careful. That slider can ruin your photo very easily if its over-used.

[@MrTwogiantscoops]

I think extra clarity locally can transform an image for example foreground water movement at 1/4s to 0.5 secs and less clarity on distant areas 😉

[@MrTwogiantscoops]

An extremely informative tutorial video. It’s taken years to realise the mistakes you talked about. Anyone watching this, who is fairly new to landscape photography, will be so grateful. I do like your ‘edge patrol’ tip which makes such a huge improvement to an image. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@staceyhuckeba6170]

I’m just getting into landscape photography and I find it very difficult. I find your videos to be extremely helpful. Not only do you offer a variety of topics, you do so in a manner that is easy to understand and follow. Thank you.

[@jeffheinaman299]

It's been two years since I shot landscape and your video was all that was needed to figure the imagination again Mads. Thank you!

[@SuhailKhalifa]

What a beautiful person to share all these valuable information...grateful thanks for helping!

[@gahammy]

Thank you! Thank you! The first clue transformed my landscape photography from good to great!!Forever will be grateful!!!!!

[@BernhardSchwarz-xs8kp]

One thing that impresses me instantly about this presentation. It takes him 20 seconds to say - let's jump right in and he starts presenting content and facts. I am so tired of the old school - I tell you what I will tell you - I tell you what I want to tell you - and I tell you what I told you. Thank you - so refreshing - and that style of delivering content rather than verbiage is used like a frame to present a picture which takes up the majority of the time - leaving little time for actual information.

[@nickydee3088]

Your use of comparisons, good pic vs not so good really helps deliver the points you’re making. Well done

[@Loretta-pl6km]

I always enjoy your informative videos (and courses!) and that you get right to the point. Thank you!

[@11cruzado]

loved it. Thank you so much for showing us your own experience, with your evolution as a photographer. Awesome

[@christophkappes-schadler518]

Thanks, great video! You manage to capture me at the issues I was just reflecting, without being able to define them as explicitly as you did in your video. Congratulations

[@Chris_2023_]

Great video, Mads! Love your work!

[@cheeta2705]

You are an Outstanding instructor and photographer! Thank you for your videos which are top-shelf & inspire me.

[@SiddharthaJoshiFilms]

Loved it Mads! Always so much to learn from all your videos :)

[@williampetersen2899]

Your "Border Patrol" and "Try centering the subject" tips have been two of the most important (among many) tips that I have picked up from your channel Mads. Really love the tip about exploring your local area as well.

[@richardwanbon3087]

You are an excellent teacher and of course photographer! Thank you for these videos!

[@BryanSwifty]

You are my favorite landscape photographer, without question! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@scotty4418]

Your point about getting out locally was well made Mads as you certainly have shown the beauty of Denmark through your lens. Look forward to seeing what you create from your trip to Svalbard with Nigel and James

[@aneeshnath1]

Excellent amazing awesome incredible phenomenal teaching and demonstration

[@jcat5150]

Another great vid, Mad! This one helped inspire me to get off my tail and get out and shoot yesterday even though I wasn't planning to and I got an image I'm very pleased with.

[@monniethehorsegirl8713]

I have been enjoying your videos and have learned so much. Preparing to go to Iceland in November and with my first mirrorless camera. I'm getting to know my camera and love all the information you provide. Your photos are mesmerizing.

[@reesecann1695]

Awesome video, Mads. One of your best!

[@singingexpertspg]

One of the best videos I've seen on the subject - thank you

[@gustough]

Thank you, Mads. Small things which make big differences. I will keep your recommendations in mind.

[@Jake-vt4ow]

Good one, Mads, thank you! Love your work and points.

[@bartjes2509]

Thanks for sharing Mads, good tips !

[@training7574]

Very useful, thanks a lot. Few videos about photography have so specific recommendations that are so easy to implement!

[@gregsimmons1709]

Fantastic perspectives and reflections! I always learn good things from your videos!! Thank you. 😊

[@ExplorewithChoo]

Awesome video and tips! Thank you so much!

[@charlesnewsholme2808]

Very interesting and informative Mads. Fantastic photos a joy to watch, many thanks.

[@Giancamera]

Man, your photos are truly amazing, great work!

[@unklarnamenpflicht]

You just made me feel like a complete newbie. Thanks for the helpful video!

[@puusajore]

Interesting, as a photojournalist ( retired) I don´t see any mistakes, just different pictures. We PROs think those people we shoot for. It is the first thought. So, if some client group needs a picture that has three dimensional visuals and foreground to see the bushes for some reason, then it is a mistake to compose so that the bushes are gone. We pros never shoot for ourselves, we shoot for other people ( those who pay for our breakfast). We think first what they need and shoot that way.

[@TheNibbiobruno]

It is even my point. Listening to my guts I even find some of the not good pics better and less pretentious than the good ones... many of the good ones just do not speak to me. Some of the things that you want to avoid work as a visual anchor to the real world, delivering everytime the exeptional itcan be boring in my opinion. And too many of the clean images are just too "IKEA" for me, sometimes an old piece of forniture with its handmade imperfections it is better. But good job overall!

[@TheForbinExperiment]

Great advice, well presented. Thank you.

[@DavesEpicPhoneShots]

Excellent tutorial Mads. You’ve made some very helpful suggestions that I’ll definitely keep in mind and put to use. 👍

[@reneenyberg4832]

Thank you for this video. Beautiful photos. Beautiful. I am a professional wedding photographer, well retired wedding photographer. I no longer want to photograph weddings. I have been doing it as my sole business for 15 years. And now I want to switch to landscape photography as a hobby. It is quite different. Finally a video with new and extremely helpful information. Thank you. Again beautiful work.

[@zsoltvaranka9741]

extremely useful recommendations, Mads, appreciate!

[@boschulte]

Excellent tips! I will look into your lessons. Every tip worked for me for sure!

[@tmainss]

Very informative and thoughtful advice. Thank you for sharing your expertise.

[@stelios_mk_]

This was highly educational, thank you so much for sharing those tips!! 🧡

[@leidygiraldo9112]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, and your artistic point of view of landscape

[@animalnanny8437]

I just love the way you teach!

[@lisasimpson9343]

Learnt a lot, thank you. Once again very enjoyable.

[@ekeithwilkinson]

Very good Mads. Some learning in there as always along with some great shots.

[@artiedoc]

Thanks Mads as usual a wonderful informative session !

[@koenpijpersphotography]

Mads I like your storm cloud picture with the rose in the grassfield a lot, it has that special something. Nice tips as well!

[@hermanbosman7127]

great video! Thanks. 👏👏👏

[@davidmaltby2065]

The concepts your explained are fascinating. Your details and processes are very helpful to me. Thanks from Australia

[@L.Spencer]

That was really interesting about the light roll-off. You used a mask for the burnt highlights to introduce negative clarity, instead of lowering the highlights all the way, like I tend to do.

[@jeffreyharrison2430]

That was awesome. Loved it, and hit subscribe.

[@paulknight7789]

Wonderful advice as always. Many thanks ❤

[@margot6041]

Very helpful as I begin to explore photography!

[@michaelechteld]

Negarive clarity! Brilliant tip, thanks! Great video.

[@masterking919]

These photos are on another level. Just amazing

[@FilipLjungberg]

Thanks for this. Very awesome ❤

[@TheRint9495]

Thank you so much for sharing this expensive knowledge!

[@robertthrailkill1368]

Very good presentation that gets to the “point” quickly

[@calmetosis]

Great content. Thanks for sharing!

[@somnathguria754]

What a fantastic tutorial.. love it,thank you

[@paulbonge6617]

Well done Mads! A few things really impressed me about your tutorial here. First and I'm sure to many it may seem a small thing, however composing is NOT just about center, foreground, mid-ground and background, leading lines, rule of thirds, juxtaposition, contra-weighting primary and secondary objects and I could go on and on, but as you so clearly began with Edge Patrol! Bravo! When I began 50 years ago, after a morning when my father had been in his darkroom until mid-day and having left me spending those hours with Weston's "Day Books" and Minor White's (a family friend) Mirrors, Messages & Manifestations, he came in for lunch and I boldly said, you know "Uncle" Edward had two sons, Cole and Brett who were also fine photographers, and you're a photographer and I'm your son SO I'm going to be a photographer too! Well, not long after that my father gave me one of his 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 Graflex cameras which he put on a tripod saying this camera STAYS on this tripod! Of course, I said I want to use your Nikon and he said, "Not until you learn how to use the equipment!" He gave me one of his older Weston II light meters and basic instructions. The first and strongest was that he didn't want to see any junk in the frame, no candy wrappers, trash cans, coke bottles, garden water hoses, anything that was not intended to be there! I could have any or all of those things within the frame, but they HAD to be INTENTIONAL and meaningful to the overall composition. Then he explained that the tripod forces you to take your time and that means that you carefully consider what you're photographing, why, what you intend to show, and that you continue to evaluate all of those things all the way to every edge of the ground glass and the corners and that you have to tilt, pan, or move the tripod and camera one inch or several feet in some manner until you get your edges clean and corners set AND THEN you start taking light readings and deciding on f-stop and shutter speed and up to the very moment that you press the shutter release you continue to evaluate the entire frame! To me, that is where it all begins and ends, with the edges and corners! One thing I say to myself, and I'd say to any beginner, is that the world out there is full of magical things to see, between close-up and wide expansive vistas BUT NOT ALL of it IS a photograph. The temptation is to become "Giddy" and "Excited" and to go about with the motivation of "Oh look at that, that's NICE I'll photograph that! AND THAT, AND THAT TOO!" With today's technology, the ease and facility to do that is limitless! That is a danger. When I shot film, I was always very conscious of things like I only have 10 sheets of film with me, OR 10 more shots on this roll and then there was processing, hours spent in the darkroom developing, washing and drying, then printing and every sheet of paper cost and you took time to choose a developer formula for what you wanted to achieve, so many things that forced ECONONY. Today, I waste more pixels on things I shouldn't have shot, only because each individual shot is for all practical purposes FREE with very little cost in time and effort. So, the DANGER is that all of us, beginner and seasoned photographer alike fall victim to some amount of point and shoot and the temptation to say "Oh that's nice, CLICK!" So, for me to say again, the second most important thing is being aware that there's a lot of wonderful things to see out there but NOT ALL of them are PHOTOGRAPHS! Thirdly, what you say about your own neighborhood is such a good point! In the early 1950's my father was living in Mexico City and one day he said to himself, I've been going all over Mexico photographing but today I'm walking out onto the street and I'm only photographing within the city block where I am now! It's a fine exercise in "seeing" as in the environment where we spend the most time we take everything we see for granted and we cease to "Really" SEE it! Limiting yourself to only photograph in a very small area that's familiar to you, helps to refocus your eye and when I've been out photographing landscapes, and then find myself in a city or home, I often do that exercise of limiting my field and it helps me adjust my seeing from the wide-open spaces to the more intimate ones of my city or home surroundings.

[@AJ-pr6er]

Awesome insights. Thanks for sharing🙏

[@paulbonge6617]

@@AJ-pr6er thanks just a few ideas from an old fart. 🙏

[@paulbonge6617]

@@AJ-pr6er I might add a clarification. When I need to refocus my eye from a wider view, it's more often because I'm kind of "Old Fashioned" in that when I go out to seriously photograph landscapes it's normally not a day trip but a week upon week or several months of daily work. I'll spend a week in the deserts of Arizona or New Mexico, then the high desert of Nevada, or Death Valley, then the Sierras and Yosemite, before going to the coast and then San Francisco. So, I'll be really concentrating my efforts and my seeing in those expansive environments for quite some time and it's always difficult to see things in the busier environment of a cityscape for some time after.

[@hilleviupmanis8687]

So many lovely pictures 😊 Thank you!

[@richardben560]

Thanks for the tips !

[@necropotence90]

Great video, good insights! Cheers!

[@cdxx6770]

Wow, beautiful shots!

[@jrrichard1977]

As a beginner, this video was excellent! While you provided a lot of detailed information, you delivered it in such a way that it was not overwhelming. Thank you!

[@timothykieper]

This is one of my hot button issues and favorite critiques. I shoot quite a bit in the Nevada deserts and it rather difficult to create clean edges without some dramatic cleaning in edits.

[@stephanyfaycohen3842]

Many thanks Mads Peter Iversen for this short but very informative video. I do BOUDOIR photographjy but still find LANDSCAPE very interesting. GOD bless you.

[@TravelWithParisTamizhaa]

Thanks for this video

[@martinhommel9967]

Thanks for your video. Great tips.

[@velvethoot4507]

Love it.... 'Edge Patrol'

[@tomgwl65]

Perfect 👏👏👏 very helpful and inspiring as allways🥰

[@alexdamman6805]

I learned a lot from the video. Thank you!

[@ageprevention]

Thanks. Excellent vid

[@1701odin]

Glad to hear you say you will use f/20 if you need. I run into so many people that are so hung up over diffraction when stopped down so much so that they will cheat themselves out of a photo or make a photo way more difficult than it needs to be.

[@preverted]

@7:00 That's a really cool photo.... @17:33 This one also. You seem to think the messy foreground is boring, idk..I like it. The contrast between the dramatic sky and the rather messy foreground looks pretty cool actually.

[@sherischneider2390]

I really like your storm clouds with the two trees photo....the red flower in the foreground is like a pair of lips throwing a kiss. Very clever! Thanks for all you do for us followers. I've learned a lot from you. And am still learning.

[@dennis1954]

I did see the lips but never thought of them throwing a kiss. My first impression was the trees are eyes, the clouds as hair, and the flower lips of a shaggy dog because of the grass. Now, after reading your comment, I definitely see the lips throwing a kiss.💋

[@ranjanbhattacharyaphotography]

Very informative ❤

[@Professor_Internet_PhD]

nice tip on the negative clarity on dealing with clipped clouds👍

[@rensbeukema8662]

Dank je wel mads👍🏻 ik heb eigenlijk nooit zo naar de randen gekeken, ik ga er toch eens wat mee doen, dank voor je tip

[@LambertFick]

Excellent work.

[@davetodd1478]

Many thanks Mads a VERY informative video ,much appreciated .Greetings again from South Africa and best for 2024.

[@peterallen2904]

The first frame of this video is showing the difference between a beginner and a pro. The difference between an amateur and a professional is that the pro earns his living carrying out his art. I have been a photographer for manny decades and have worked with film and digital. With film the work has to be done choosing the moment the shutter is pressed (and taking into account of position, angle light etc.) and work in the darkroom. The latter not being able to be done with transparency. What you see is what you get. So many new photographers these days think they can take a not very photograph and the improve it in post processing. I used to teach photography and saw it all the time. A good photographer can create a better image with a smart phone than a bad photographer with a top of the range Canon, Nikon, Sony or the like.

[@warrenbuck8950]

Truth

[@heavyglassglass]

wow I just realized that if you click and hold on a video (or press and hold mobile) it plays at 2x until you let go. I clicked and was like why is he speeding through this 😂

[@rolsonn]

Great tutorial and many magnificent photos.

[@suzywoozy2694]

Good info.

[@ctiborkansky8717]

Very inspiring video. There is nothing there that I don't know, but one rarely sees such a beautifully and comprehensibly explained and demonstrated with many examples. Thank you very much. I would certainly like the featured e-books, but, unfortunately, my English is very bad. Have beautiful days and good light.

[@sofidgetasmrinc.2952]

Love it!

[@SubZero8007]

Great vid, really learning a lot from you! Oh, and... 1:05 I actually like this photo, even with those "edge elements" :)

[@delyrium_]

But then again, even the "mistakes" make remarkable artistic photos. Some of those that you mentioned as "mistakes" are down right beautiful. At the end of the day "the beauty is in the eye of the beholder" ☺️😉

[@JaypeaFoto]

IT’S A SAD DAY WHEN. 4 months ago I discovered your videos and just finished watching all 377 videos. It’s interesting to see how you have grown from then to now. So so many great photos, videos and tips along the way. Thank you for your dedication, teaching of which you are astounding at. I look forward to the next 6 years of your work. JP Gallant, Canada

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you so, so, so much and for all the kind comments all along the way. It does require some dedication to listen to me for that long, but thank you! 😊

[@veselinvasilev9362]

Thank you!

[@novatoi]

wow . I learned a lot from you today 👍👍👍

[@OktoberFilms]

I love two things about this video. 1. The photos are absolutely gorgeous. 2. You are a very harsh critic of your own work. Oh, and I should be in my native Iceland, but I’m not. Will be going on holiday soon, so will definitely take your advice to heart.

[@SeanBreathnach]

Great tips!

[@ryanlamont5669]

Beautiful work

[@redhummer8166]

very useful bro thanks for sharing

[@HR-wd6cw]

Also in regards to shutter speed, especially when doing long exposures, is to pay attention to other objects in the scene (ie. trees blowing in the wind perhaps) because this can lead to softness in those areas that may ruin a photo. Of course this is a bit of a challenge though because you have to balance shutter speed so that the image is sharp but the water is also blurred to an extent (although you could take one shot that is quicker to freeze everything but the water, and then do a long exposure and composite in post so you get the best of both worlds. I would almost say for long exposure water shots, do a couple of shots at different shutter speeds. If you're shooting digital, it's not costing you anything and then you have a few different compositions to work from or choose from. This is not to say not to plan your shots out, but take a few different ones so you have options. I've burned myself a few times by doing a super long exposure only to realize I really didn't like it as much because of the plastic look of the water, but I only took one or two shots like that and nothing with a slightly faster shutter speed. I figure if you do a few different compositions using different settings you can always delete the images you don't need later, but it's harder to try to go back again and re-create the same scene again.

[@MiaogisTeas]

Why would trees moving ruin a long exposure? Are you trying to trick people?

[@HR-wd6cw]

@@MiaogisTeas I'm not saying the moving was the issue, it's the fact that they don't really contribute to the overall composition (and not the trees themselves -- as the ydo act as a frame -- but the area to the left and right of the trees, its like dead space and makes the waterfall (the subject) smaller in the frame. He could have zoomed in or gotten closer and framed it so the trees were near the edges of the frame, acting more as a frame than just elements in the image.